Plans to serve passengers during Eid formulated

Free parking in Dubai Lily B. Libo-on DUBAI — Parking in paid zones in Dubai will be free from July 27 till August 1 as part of the new timings announced by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) during the Eid Al Fitr holidays. All the paid parking zones in Dubai will be free except for the parking lots of the Fish Market and the multi-level parking terminals. The fees will be activated on August 2. Ahmed Mahboob, director of Customer Service at the RTA, said the service centres will be off during the Eid holidays and will resume on August 3. All stations on the Metro Red Line will open from 5.30am to 1am, while the Green Line stations will be open from 5.50am to 1am from July 28 to 30. He said vehicle testing and registration services will be closed from July 27 to July 30. Public bus services at main bus stations such as the Gold Souq and Ghubaiba will start at 5.10am and end at 12am. Among the subsidiary stations, the Jebel Ali station will operate from 6am to 9.30pm, and all other stations will operate from 5.30am to 11.45pm, except for Route C01 which will be operating round the clock. Rashidiya, Mall of the Emirates, Ibn Battuta, Abu Hail, Etisalat and Burj Khalifa stations will operate from 5.15am to 12.15am. “Commercial transport and inter-city bus services will (operate for) 24 hours at the main stations, and from 5.30am to 12 midnight at subsidiary stations such as the Union Square, Sabkha, Deira City Centre and Karama stations. At the external stations such as Sharjah, the service will be 24 hours a day, while the Abu Dhabi station will operate from 5am to 11.55pm, and Fujairah station will be open from 5.50am till 9pm. The Ajman station will be open from 5.30am to 9.30pm,” Mahboob said. Among the marine transit modes, water bus at the Dubai Creek station will operate from 7am to 10pm, and on Friday from 10am to 10pm. The water bus service at the Marina station will operate from 10am to midnight, and on Friday from 12 noon to midnight. lily@khaleejtimes.com

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will deploy at least 10 buses to shuttle passengers for free between The Dubai Mall and the World Trade Centre in anticipation of a shortage in taxis. The buses will operate throughout the Eid Al Fitr holidays from 1pm.

Hussain Al Banna, director of Traffic at the RTA Traffic and Roads Agency, and head of Traffic Movement and Handling of Operational Plans during Annual Events Team, said the RTA has formulated necessary operational plans for serving passengers during the holidays, which is usually a busy period every year.

In Burj Khalifa area, over 20 directional signs will be installed to direct the traffic to the internal roads network of the Business Bay district and provide access to the Shaikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road, which will, in turn, ease the pressure on the Financial Centre Road.

“Temporary signs will be installed to direct road users to Zabeel bridges to access the Burj Khalifa area from the Shaikh Rashid Road. To ensure a smooth traffic flow during various peak hours, the light signals on the Financial Centre Road will be monitored and controlled to ensure the smoothest traffic flow possible,” Al Banna said. A team of traffic movement organisers and controllers will be on site daily. The RTA has allowed all limousine firms to lift passengers from The Dubai Mall, which is considered the most populous and famous tourist destination. Coordination is in hand with franchise companies operating taxicabs (Dubai Taxi, Cars Taxi, Arabian Taxi, National Taxi and Metro Taxi) to ensure the deployment of the full operational capacity of their respective fleets during the Eid days. The total number of taxicabs operating in Dubai currently stands as 8,997.

The Booking and Despatch Centre will be fully ready and operating round the clock as usual to deliver the highest levels of service. There will also be a link between the centre and sites to support external events as well. Nazim Faisal, director of Roads Maintenance, Traffic and Roads Agency, said a programme is underway for preventive maintenance and cleaning of the surroundings of venues hosting Eid prayers, in addition to tunnels and bridges.

“We have also given attention to washing the main tunnels and metal rail of bridges, removing dust and solid deposits on pavements, especially on bridges, washing pedestrian bridges, and cleaning directional signage at the main roads of the emirate,” he said. A technical team comprising engineers and inspectors of the Roads Maintenance Department has, in coordination with the Traffic and Roads Departments, surveyed areas around venues hosting Eid prayers to take the necessary corrective measures.

lily@khaleejtimes.com